To say that the team behind Magic: The Gathering’s upcoming Final Fantasy collaboration set is excited to launch would be an understatement.
“As we drove up to the convention center, there’s this giant hotel-sized screen that says ‘Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy on it,” principal designer and set design lead Gavin Verhey said during a press preview event for the upcoming set. “We all just looked at each other and said, ‘This is it, this is what we’ve been waiting for. It’s finally happening.'”
Moments like this are what Verhey, executive producer Zakeel Gordon, principal game designer Dillon Deveney, and senior game designer Daniel Holt have dreamed of throughout the four-year history of the set’s development. As the team reminisces about their time working on the expansion, both in Square Enix’s offices in Japan and the Wizards of the Coast headquarters in Renton, Washington, our Zoom call lights up with smiles and laughter at the simple mention of cards like Summon: Bahamut, names like Yoshitaka Amano, and countless other references.